Gospel of the Day (Luke 9:51-56)

When the days for his being taken up were fulfilled, he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem, and he sent messengers ahead of him. On the way they entered a Samaritan village to prepare for his reception there, but they would not welcome him because the destination of his journey was Jerusalem.

When the disciples James and John saw this they asked, "Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?"

Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they journeyed to another village.

***

Reflections:

"They would not welcome him because the destination of his journey was Jerusalem"

There are two cities: one is called Babylon, the other Jerusalem. Babylon means 'confusion'; Jerusalem means 'vision of peace'. Look well at the city of confusion if you would better understand the vision of peace. Bear with the first; sigh for the second.

What allows us to distinguish between these two cities? Can we, even now, separate one from the other? Each is interpenetrated with the other and, ever since the dawn of man, they have accompanied each other thus towards time's ending. Jerusalem was born along with Abel; Babylon with Cain... These two material towns were built only later but, symbolically, they represent those two immaterial cities whose origins go back to the beginning of time and must endure here below until the end of the ages. Then the Lord will separate them when he sets some at his right hand and others at his left (Mt 25,33)...

However, there is something that, even now, distinguishes the citizens of Jerusalem from the citizens of Babylon: that is their two loves. Love of God is what constitutes Jerusalem; love of the world, Babylon. Ask who you love and you will know who you are. If you find yourself to be a citizen of Babylon, uproot covetousness from your heart and plant charity within yourself. If you find yourself to be a citizen of Jerusalem, endure your captivity patiently and hope for your liberation. Indeed, many of the citizens of our holy mother Jerusalem (Gal 4,26) were first of all prisoners of Bablyon...

How can we awaken within ourselves a love for our homeland, Jerusalem, whose memory we have lost in the tediousness of exile? The Father himself writes to us and relights within us even here below a longing to return by his letters, which are the Holy Scriptures.

Let us seek to be holy people as Christians.

How can we be holy? We are certainly to avoid sin. Does this mean that we should have no contact with sinful people, or with the world around us?

It is a great mystery and wonder, but God said He would send His Holy Spirit to live in us as believers. So we can have holiness — God’s purity and love and spirit — in our hearts, even when we live in the middle of a world with sin and problems.

So, beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, we are not to leave this world — we are to be vessels of God’s saving grace and love to those around us. This does not mean you should be tempted, or put yourself in positions where sin is going on. It does mean that even in a world that is often far from God, we can let the love of Christ shine.

So this week, let us pray that

• God will keep you from temptation — and that you will live filled with God’s holiness
• God will help you be a shining light of Christ’s love to those around you

We are brothers and sisters in the family of God with all true believers in Christ — and are bound together in His love.

“Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth.” Psalm 96:9

Gospel of the Day (John 1:47-51)

Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, "Here is a true Israelite. There is no duplicity in him."

Nathanael said to him, "How do you know me?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree."

Nathanael answered him, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel."

Jesus answered and said to him, "Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this."

And he said to him, "Amen, amen, I say to you, you will see the sky opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."

***

Reflections:

«Bless the Lord, all you his angels, who do his bidding» (Ps 103[102], 20)

That angels exist is attested by many pages of Holy Scripture... It must be realized that the word 'angel' is the name of an office, and not of a nature... since they are angels only when something is announced through them. Those who make minor announcements are called angels, those who make important ones are called archangels. Hence it is that not just any angel was sent to the Virgin Mary but that Gabriel the archangel was sent: it was right that the proper one for this role should be of the highest rank of angels since he was to announce the greatest news of all...

Whenever a mighty deed is in question, Michael is assigned, so that by his actions and name, which means «Who is like God?», it may be made known that no one can do what God can do. So in the case of our ancient enemy, who in his pride wanted to be like God when he said: 'I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will make myself like the Most High' (Is 14,13): when he is shown to be condemned to eternal punishment at the end of the world, he is described as about to do battle with Michael, as Saint John says : 'War broke out with Michael the archangel. The Dragon and its angels fought back, but they did not prevail and it was thrown down to earth' (cf Rv 12,7-9).

Gabriel was sent to Mary, for Gabriel means 'Strength of God'. He came to announce him who deigned to be lowly so as to wage war on the spiritual powers of the air. He who came as God of power and as one strong in battle (Ps 24[23],8) was to be announced by Gabriel, the strength of God. Finally Raphael is interpreted as 'Healing of God', since he wiped away the shadows of blindness from Tobias when he touched his eyes to cure him. The one who is sent to cure, was indeed worthy of the name 'Healing of God'.

Gospel of the Day (Luke 9:18-22)

Once when Jesus was praying in solitude, and the disciples were with him, he asked them, "Who do the crowds say that I am?"

They said in reply, "John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, 'One of the ancient prophets has arisen.'"

Then he said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter said in reply, "The Messiah of God."

He rebuked them and directed them not to tell this to anyone.

He said, "The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised."

***

Reflections:

"But who do you say that I am?"

Convinced of Christ: yes, I feel the need to proclaim him, I cannot keep silent. £Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!» (1 Cor 9,16). I am sent by him, by Christ himself, to do this. I am an apostle, I am a witness. The more distant the goal, the more difficult my mission the more pressing is the love that urges me to it (2 Cor 5,14). I must bear witness to his name: Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God (Mt 16,16). He reveals the invisible God, he is the firstborn of all creation, the foundation of everything created (Col 1,15f.). He is the Teacher of mankind, and its Redeemer. He was born, he died and he rose again for us. He is the centre of history and of the world; he is the one who knows us and who loves us; he is the companion and the friend of our life. He is the man of sorrows and of hope. It is he who will come and who one day will be our judge and - we hope -the everlasting fulness of our existence, our happiness.

I could never finish speaking about him: he is the light and the truth; indeed, he is «the way, the truth and the life» (Jn 14,6). He is the bread and the spring of living water to satisfy our hunger and our thirst (Jn 6,35; 7,38). He is our shepherd, our guide, our model, our comfort, our brother. Like us, and more than us, he has been little, poor, humiliated; he has been a worker; he has known misfortune and been patient. For our sake he spoke, worked miracles and founded a new kingdom where the poor are happy, where peace is the principle for living together, where the pure of heart and those who mourn are raised up and comforted, where those who hunger and thirst after justice have their fill, where sinners can be forgiven, where all are brothers.

Jesus Christ: you have heard him spoken of; indeed the greater part of you are already his: you are Christians. So, to you Christians I repeat his name, to everyone I proclaim him: Jesus Christ «is the beginning and the end, the Alpha and the Omega» (Rv 21,6); he is the king of the new world; he is the secret of history; he is the key to our destiny. He is the mediator, the bridge, between heaven and earth. He is... the Son of Man, because he is the Son of God... He is the son of Mary... Jesus Christ is our constant preaching; it is his name that we proclaim to the ends of the earth (Rom 10,18) and throughout all ages.

Book of Ecclesiastes 1:2-11.

Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth, vanity of vanities! All things are vanity!

What profit has man from all the labor which he toils at under the sun?

One generation passes and another comes, but the world forever stays.

The sun rises and the sun goes down; then it presses on to the place where it rises.

Blowing now toward the south, then toward the north, the wind turns again and again, resuming its rounds.

All rivers go to the sea, yet never does the sea become full. To the place where they go, the rivers keep on going.

All speech is labored; there is nothing man can say. The eye is not satisfied with seeing nor is the ear filled with hearing.

What has been, that will be; what has been done, that will be done. Nothing is new under the sun.

Even the thing of which we say, "See, this is new!" has already existed in the ages that preceded us.

There is no remembrance of the men of old; nor of those to come will there be any remembrance among those who come after them.

Psalms 90(89):3-4.5-6.12-13.14.17.

But humans you return to dust, saying, "Return, you mortals!"

A thousand years in your eyes are merely a yesterday. Before a watch passes in the night, you have brought them to their end; They disappear like sleep at dawn; they are like grass that dies.

It sprouts green in the morning; by evening it is dry and withered.

Teach us to count our days aright, that we may gain wisdom of heart.

Relent, O LORD! How long? Have pity on your servants!

Fill us at daybreak with your love, that all our days we may sing for joy.

May the favor of the Lord our God be ours. Prosper the work of our hands! Prosper the work of our hands!

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 9:7-9.

Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening, and he was greatly perplexed because some were saying, "John has been raised from the dead"; others were saying, "Elijah has appeared"; still others, "One of the ancient prophets has arisen."

But Herod said, "John I beheaded. Who then is this about whom I hear such things?" And he kept trying to see him.

Gospel of the Day (Luke 9:1-6)

He summoned the Twelve and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal (the sick).

He said to them, "Take nothing for the journey, neither walking stick, nor sack, nor food, nor money, and let no one take a second tunic.

Whatever house you enter, stay there and leave from there.

And as for those who do not welcome you, when you leave that town, shake the dust from your feet in testimony against them."

Then they set out and went from village to village proclaiming the good news and curing diseases everywhere.

***

Reflections:

«Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings you have fashioned praise» (Ps 8,3)

It was through unlearned men that the Cross brought conviction, and drew the world to itself. It spoke to men, not of chance things, but of God, and of piety in the truth, of the Gospel polity, of future judgment, and it made uncouth and illiterate men philosophers. This is how «the foolishness of God is wiser than man, and His weakness stronger,» (1Cor. 1,25).

How is it stronger? It is stronger in that it spread over the whole earth and seized all men by force, and whereas thousands and thousands did their utmost to stamp out the name of the Crucified One, just the contrary came to pass. For this name took root and was propagated all the more, whereas its enemies were destroyed and consumed, and living men fighting a dead One, gained not a stroke... For publicans and fishermen set up those very things by the goodness of God which philosophers, and orators, and despots, and the whole world vainly striving with all its might could not even devise... This was in Paul's mind when he said: «the weakness of God is stronger than all men put together.» How, otherwise, was it that twelve unlettered men attempted things of this importance?

“I am the Lord your God...be holy, because I am holy.” Leviticus 11:44

God is holy. What does it mean to be holy? For God, it means He is perfect — He is without stain or blemish. There is no evil in God and never will be. God is holy — set apart from everything that is bad.

What does it mean for us to be holy? For us as Christians, it means to be set apart — to God and to His service. The Holy Spirit lives in us and can bring true holiness into our lives. We are still living in a world that has sin, and we ourselves sin even as Christians. But our goal should be to ask the Holy Spirit to transform our lives — that in our hearts and in our lives, we will be set apart to God and controlled by His Holy Spirit and not our old sinful nature.

So this week, let us pray that

• God will help us to be holy, even as He is holy
• We will be thankful for the fact that His Holy Spirit can make this possible

Thank you so much for your prayers. Let us all pray that God’s Holy Spirit will fill us all and help us to be Christ-filled ambassadors of His love to the world.

“You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be My own.” Leviticus 20:26

Gospel of the Day (Luke 8:19-21)

Then his mother and his brothers came to him but were unable to join him because of the crowd.

He was told, "Your mother and your brothers are standing outside and they wish to see you."

He said to them in reply, "My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it."

***

Reflections:

She lived by faith like us

How I would have loved to be a priest in order to preach about the Blessed Virgin! One sermon would be sufficient to say everything I think about this subject.

I'd first make people understand how little is known by us about her life. We shouldn't say unlikely things or things we don't know anything about! For example, that when she was very little, at the age of three, the Blessed Virgin went up to the Temple to offer herself to God, burning with sentiments of love and extraordinary fervor. While perhaps she went there very simply out of obedience to her parents... For a sermon on the Blessed Virgin to please me and do me any good, I must see her real life, not her imagined life. I'm sure that her real life was very simple. They show her to us as unapproachable, but they should present her as imitable, bringing out her virtues, saying that she lived by faith just like ourselves, giving proofs of this from the Gospel, where we read: «And they did not understand the words which He spoke to them,» (Lk 2,50). And that other no less mysterious statement: «His father and mother marveled at what was said about him,» (Lk 2,33). This admiration presupposes a certain surprise, don't you think so?

We know very well that the Blessed Virgin is Queen of heaven and earth, but she is more Mother than Queen; and we should not say, on account of her prerogatives, that she surpasses all the saints in glory just as the sun at its rising makes the stars disappear from sight. My God! How strange that would be! A mother who makes her children's glory vanish! I myself think just the contrary. I believe she'll increase the splendor of the elect very much.

It's good to speak about her prerogatives, but we should not stop at this... Who knows whether some soul would not reach the point of feeling a certain estrangement from a creature so superior and would not say: If things are such, it's better to go and shine as well as ne is able in some little corner!

What the Blessed Virgin has more than we have is the privilege of not being able to sin, she was exempt from the stain of original sin; but on the other hand, she wasn't as fortunate as we are, since she didn't have a Blessed Virgin to love. And this is one more sweetness for us!

Gospel of the Day (Luke 8:16-18)

No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel or sets it under a bed; rather, he places it on a lampstand so that those who enter may see the light.

For there is nothing hidden that will not become visible, and nothing secret that will not be known and come to light.

Take care, then, how you hear. To anyone who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he seems to have will be taken away."

***

Reflections:

"Take care, then, how you hear"

Listen in silence. It is because your heart is brimful of a thousand things that you are unable to hear God's voice in it. But as soon as you set about listening to God's voice in a peaceful heart, it becomes full of God. This takes many sacrifices. If we think we want to pray then we have to prepare ourselves for it. Without delay. I am only referring to the first steps towards praying but unless we carry them out with determination we shall never reach the final step, the presence of God.

That is why our training has to be perfect from the start: we begin listening for God's voice in our heart and, in the heart's silence, God begins to speak. Then, out of the fullness of the heart there rises up what the mouth must say. That is where the connection lies. In the silence of the heart God speaks while you have only to listen. Then, once your heart has reached its plenitude because it finds itself filled with God, filled with love, filled with compassion, filled with faith, it falls to your mouth to speak.

Bear in mind that, before speaking, you need to listen and only then, from the depths of a receptive heart, can you speak and be heard by God.

Gospel of the Day (Luke 8:1-3)

Afterward he journeyed from one town and village to another, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. Accompanying him were the Twelve and some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, Joanna, the wife of Herod's steward Chuza, Susanna, and many others who provided for them out of their resources.

***

Reflections:

"Accompanying him were the Twelve and some women"

Jesus, as we know, certainly chose from among his disciples 12 men as Fathers of the new Israel and appointed them "to be with him, and to be sent out to preach" (Mk 3, 14-15).
This fact is obvious; but, in addition to the Twelve, pillars of the Church and fathers of the new People of God, many women were also chosen to number among the disciples. I can only mention very briefly those who followed Jesus himself, beginning with the Prophetess Anna (cf. Lk 2, 36-38), to the Samaritan woman (cf. Jn 4, 1-39), the Syro-Phoenician woman (cf. Mk 7, 24-30), the woman with the haemorrhage (cf. Mt 9, 20-22) and the sinful woman whose sins were forgiven (cf. Lk 7, 36-50).

I will not even refer to the protagonists of some of his effective parables, for example, the housewife who made bread (cf. Mt 13, 33), the woman who lost the drachma (cf. Lk 15, 8-10), the widow who pestered the judge (cf. Lk 18, 1-8). More important for our topic are the women who played an active role in the context of Jesus' mission.

In the first place, we think spontaneously of the Virgin Mary, who with her faith and maternal labours collaborated in a unique way in our Redemption to the point that Elizabeth proclaimed her "Blessed... among women" (Lk 1, 42), adding: "Blessed is she who believed..." (Lk 1, 45). Having become a disciple of her Son, Mary manifested total trust in him at Cana (cf. Jn 2, 5), and followed him to the foot of the Cross where she received from him a maternal mission for all his disciples of all times, represented by John (cf. Jn 19, 25-27).

Then there are various women with roles of responsibility who gravitated in their different capacities around the figure of Jesus. The women who followed Jesus to assist him with their own means, some of whose names Luke has passed down to us, are an eloquent example: Mary of Magdala, Joanna, Susanna and "many others" (cf. Lk 8, 2-3). The Gospels then tell us that the women, unlike the Twelve, did not abandon Jesus in the hour of his Passion (cf. Mt 27, 56, 61; Mk 15, 40). Among them, Mary Magdalene stands out in particular. Not only was she present at the Passion, but she was also the first witness and herald of the Risen One (cf. Jn 20, 1.11-18). It was precisely to Mary Magdalene that St Thomas Aquinas reserved the special title, "Apostle of the Apostles", dedicating to her this beautiful comment: "Just as a woman had announced the words of death to the first man, so also a woman was the first to announce to the Apostles the words of life".

Gospel of the Day (Luke 7:36-50)

A Pharisee invited him to dine with him, and he entered the Pharisee's house and reclined at table.

Now there was a sinful woman in the city who learned that he was at table in the house of the Pharisee. Bringing an alabaster flask of ointment, she stood behind him at his feet weeping and began to bathe his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and anointed them with the ointment.

When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner.

"Jesus said to him in reply, "Simon, I have something to say to you." "Tell me, teacher," he said.

Two people were in debt to a certain creditor; one owed five hundred days' wages and the other owed fifty.

Since they were unable to repay the debt, he forgave it for both. Which of them will love him more?"

Simon said in reply, "The one, I suppose, whose larger debt was forgiven." He said to him, "You have judged rightly."

Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? When I entered your house, you did not give me water for my feet, but she has bathed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair.

You did not give me a kiss, but she has not ceased kissing my feet since the time I entered.

You did not anoint my head with oil, but she anointed my feet with ointment.

So I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; hence, she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little."

He said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."

The others at table said to themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?"

But he said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."

***

Reflections:

"Who is this who even forgives sins?"

May our hope in God's mercy uphold us amidst the tumult of passions and contradictions. Let us run confidently to the sacrament of penance where Our Lord is always waiting for us with infinite tenderness. And once our sins have been forgiven we should forget about them because Our Lord has already done so before we do. Even if you were to confess you had committed all the sins in the world, yet the Lord assures you: «Your many sins have been forgiven because you loved much.»

Lord Jesus, you are all sweetness: how could I possibly live without you? Come, Lord, take sole possession of my heart.

Gospel of the Day (Luke 7:31-35)

Then to what shall I compare the people of this generation? What are they like?

They are like children who sit in the marketplace and call to one another, 'We played the flute for you, but you did not dance. We sang a dirge, but you did not weep.'

For John the Baptist came neither eating food nor drinking wine, and you said, 'He is possessed by a demon.'

The Son of Man came eating and drinking and you said, 'Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.'

But wisdom is vindicated by all her children."

***

Reflections:

"Adam, where are you?": answering the call of the Lord

My soul yearns after the Lord and I seek Him in tears. How could I do other than seek Thee, for Thou first didst seek and find me, and gavest me to delight in Thy Holy Spirit, and my soul fell to loving Thee. Thou seest, O Lord, my grief and my tears. Hadst Thou not drawn me with Thy love, I could not seek Thee as I seek Thee now; but Thy spirit gave me to know Thee, and my soul rejoices that Thou art my God and my Lord, and I yearn after Thee even to tears.

The Spirit of Christ whom I had of the Lord desires the salvation of all, that all should know God. The Lord gave the thief Paradise. Thus will he give Paradise to every sinner. With my sins I am worse than a noisome cur but I began to beseech God for forgiveness, and he granted me not only forgiveness but also the Holy Spirit, and in the Holy Spirit I knew God...

My soul knows that the Lord is merciful but his mercy passes portrayal. He is exceeding meek and lowly, and when the soul sees Him she is all transformed into love for God and her neighbour, and becomes meek and lowly herself. But if a man loses grace, he will weep like Adam cast out of Paradise... O Lord, grant unto us the repentance of Adam, and Thy holy humility.

Gospel of the Day (Luke 7:11-17)

Soon afterward he journeyed to a city called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd accompanied him.

As he drew near to the gate of the city, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. A large crowd from the city was with her.

When the Lord saw her, he was moved with pity for her and said to her, "Do not weep."

He stepped forward and touched the coffin; at this the bearers halted, and he said, "Young man, I tell you, arise!"

The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.

Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, exclaiming, "A great prophet has arisen in our midst," and "God has visited his people."

This report about him spread through the whole of Judea and in all the surrounding region.

***

Reflections:

"Young man, I tell you, arise!"

Let no one who is Christian doubt that even now dead people rise. Certainly, every human being has eyes by which he can see dead people rising in the way this widow's son whom we just heard about in the gospel rose. But not everyone can see people who are spiritually dead rise. For that, it is necessary to have already risen interiorly. It is greater to raise someone who is to live forever than to raise someone who will have to die again.

The young man's mother, this widow, was transported with joy at seeing her son rise. Our mother the Church also rejoices when she sees her children's spiritual resurrection every day. The widow's son was dead with the death of the body; but these latter are dead with the death of the soul. People wept tears over the visible death of the former; but people were not concerned by the invisible death of the latter; they didn't even see it. The only one who did not remain indifferent is the one who knew these deaths; only the one who could give life back to them knew these deaths. For if the Lord had not come to raise the dead, the apostle Paul would not have said: «Awake, O sleeper, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.» (Eph 5:14)

Trust and obey. When we follow Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord we have the great privilege of trusting and obeying Him.

God is ultimately trustworthy. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path.” When we trust Him with our lives, God will lead and guide us into all righteousness.

Is it hard to trust God? Sometimes we are used to having our own way and being in control — and we need to learn to “give the steering wheel” over to God. Should we obey Him? Absolutely yes. We can ask God to help us listen and obey Him by the power of the Holy Spirit working in our lives.

God loves us and knows what is best for us. If He says turn left, we should turn left. God instructs us by His Word, the Bible, and by His Holy Spirit. Let us seek in all our lives to trust Him with all our hearts — and listen to and obey His Word.

This week, can you please pray

• For God to lead and guide you as you seek to follow His will
• That God would help us reach and disciple many more people for Christ

“Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm.” Psalm 20:7, 8

Gospel of the Day (John 19:25-27)

Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala.

When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son."

Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother." And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.

***

Reflections:

"From that hour the disciple took her into his home"

When Jesus was going round towns and villages preaching the Gospel, Mary was his inseparable companion, clinging to his footsteps and hanging upon his words as he taught, so much so that neither the storm of persecution nor dread of punishment could deter her from following her Son and Master. «By the Lord's cross there stood Mary, his Mother». Truly a Mother, who did not abandon her Son even in the face of death. How could she be frightened of death, when «her love was as strong as death,» (Sg 8,6) or rather stronger than death? Truly she stood by Jesus' cross, when at the same time the pain of the cross crucified her mind and as manifold a sword pierced her own sou1 (Lk 2,35) as she beheld the body of her Son pierced with wounds. Rightly therefore was she recognized as his Mother there and by his care entrusted to a suitable protector, in which both the mother's unalloyed love for her Son and the Son's kindness toward his Mother were proved to the utmost...

Loving her as he did Jesus «Loved her to the end» (Jn 13,1), so as not only to bring his life to an end for her but also to speak almost his last words for her benefit. As his last will and testament he committed to his beloved heir the care of his mother... The Church fell to peter, Mary to John. This bequest belonged to John not only by right of kinship but also because of the privilege love had bestowed and the witness his chastity bore... It was fitting that none other than the beloved of her Son should minister to the mother of the Lord... Providence also arranged very conveniently that he who was to write a Gospel should have intimate conferences with her who knew about them all, for she had taken note from the beginning of everything that happened to her Son and «treasured up all the words concerning him, pondering them in her heart» (Lk 2,19).

Gospel of the Day (Luke 6:39-42)

And he told them a parable, "Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit?

No disciple is superior to the teacher; but when fully trained, every disciple will be like his teacher.

Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?

How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,' when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye? You hypocrite! Remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter in your brother's eye.

***

Reflections:

The well trained disciple will be like his master

The blessed disciples were to be the spiritual guides and teachers of the whole world. It had therefore to be dearly seen by all that they held fast to the true faith. It was essential for them to be familiar with the gospel way of life, skilled in every good work, and to give teaching that was precise, salutary, and scrupulously faithful to the truth they themselves had long pondered, enlightened by the divine radiance. Otherwise they would be blind leaders of the blind. Those imprisoned in the darkness of ignorance can never lead others in the same sorry state to knowledge of the truth. Should they try, both would fall headlong into the ditch of the passions.

To destroy the ostentatious passion of boastfulness and stop people from trying to win greater honor than their teachers, Christ declared: «The disciple is not above his teacher.» Even if some should advance so far as to equal their teachers in holiness, they ought to remain within the limits set by them, and follow their example. Paul also taught this when he said: «Be imitators of me as I am of Christ,» (1Cor 11,1).

So then, if the Master does not judge, why are you judging? He came not to judge the world (Jn 12,47), but to take pity on it. What he is saying, then, is this: "If I do not pass judgment, neither must you, my disciple. You may be even more guilty of the faults of which you accuse another... «Why do you look for the speck in your brother's eye?»

Gospel of the Day (Luke 6:27-38)

But to you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well, and from the person who takes your cloak, do not withhold even your tunic.

Give to everyone who asks of you, and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back.

Do to others as you would have them do to you.

For if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them.

And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same.

If you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit (is) that to you?Even sinners lend to sinners, and get back the same amount.

But rather, love your enemies and do good to them, and lend expecting nothing back; then your reward will be great and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.

Be merciful, just as (also) your Father is merciful.

Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven.

Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you."

***

Reflections:

«Be merciful as your Father is merciful»

Don't attach yourself to the suspicions or the persons of those who would tempt you to become scandalized about certain things. Because those who, in one way or another, are scandalized by what comes their way, whether they wanted it to or not, are unmindful of the way of peace that, through love, guides those who are caught up by it to knowledge of God.

Anyone who is still swayed by other people's characters and who, for example, loves one but hates another, or who sometimes loves, sometimes hates the same person for the same reasons, does not as yet have perfect love. Perfect love does not split men's common nature because some of them have different personalities but, always regarding that nature, it loves all equally. It loves the virtuous as friends and the wicked as enemies, doing good to them, bearing with them with patience, enduring what comes from them, paying no attention to malice, going so far as to suffer for them if the opportunity presents itself. So it makes friends of them if at all possible. Or, at the least, it is faithful to itself, always showing its fruits to all alike. Our Lord and God, Jesus Christ, demonstrating the love he bears us, suffered for all humankind and proffered the hope of resurrection to all alike even though each individually, by his works, calls upon himself glory or punishment.

Gospel of the Day (Luke 6:12-19)

And raising his eyes toward his disciples he said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours.

Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh.

Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man.

Rejoice and leap for joy on that day! Behold, your reward will be great in heaven. For their ancestors treated the prophets in the same way.

But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.

But woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will grieve and weep.

Woe to you when all speak well of you, for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way.

***

Reflections:

"Blessed are you who are poor"

As for those who possess not the gifts of fortune, they are taught by the Church that in God's sight poverty is no disgrace, and that there is nothing to be ashamed of in earning their bread by labor. This is enforced by what we see in Christ Himself, who, "whereas He was rich, for our sakes became poor";(2Cor 8,9) and who, being the Son of God, and God Himself, chose to seem and to be considered the son of a carpenter - nay, did not disdain to spend a great part of His life as a carpenter Himself. "Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary?"(Mk 6,3).

From contemplation of this divine Model, it is more easy to understand that the true worth and nobility of man lie in his moral qualities, that is, in virtue; that virtue is, moreover, the common inheritance of men, equally within the reach of high and low, rich and poor; and that virtue, and virtue alone, wherever found, will be followed by the rewards of everlasting happiness. Nay, God Himself seems to incline rather to those who suffer misfortune; for Jesus Christ calls the poor "blessed"; He lovingly invites those in labor and grief to come to Him for solace;(Mt 11,28) and He displays the tenderest charity toward the lowly and the oppressed.

These reflections cannot fail to keep down the pride of the well-to-do, and to give heart to the unfortunate; to move the former to be generous and the latter to be moderate in their desires. Thus, the separation which pride would set up tends to disappear, nor will it be difficult to make rich and poor join hands in friendly concord.

You can have hope for the future because of Jesus Christ.

What is hope? Hope is the confident expectation that something good will happen. What is this good thing? As Christians, we can confidently hope for the following things:

1. The hope of heaven — we know that because we have accepted Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord we will spend eternity in heaven
2. The hope of God’s love — we know that in everything in life God will be with us and care for us
3. The hope of a better tomorrow — we know that God has the potential to bring good things to and through our lives

Without God, we do not have the hope of heaven or of God’s love and presence; and good things may or may not happen. But as Christians we know that God will cause all things to work together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His will.

We can’t control every event in life, but we can entrust ourselves to the most powerful and loving being in the universe, knowing that the future will only be better for all eternity and that good things can still come in this life.

So this week, let us pray for

• Funding so we can share Christ’s love with people every day
• The many hurting people around the world — that they will know the hope that comes from Jesus Christ

THANK YOU so much for your prayers. Someday we hope to meet in heaven in person — and then you will know the impact your prayers have had in reaching the world for Jesus Christ.

“But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.” Micah 7:7

Gospel of the Day (Luke 6:12-19)

In those days he departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God.

When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called a Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

And he came down with them and stood on a stretch of level ground. A great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and even those who were tormented by unclean spirits were cured.

Everyone in the crowd sought to touch him because power came forth from him and healed them all.

***

Reflections:

"He spent the night in prayer to God. When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve"

I think our Sisters have received that communication of joy that one sees among many religious who have given themselves unreservedly to God. The work is only the expression of the love we have for God. We have to pour our love on someone. And the people are the means of expressing our love for God.

We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature, trees, flowers, grass - grow in silence; see the stars, the moon and sun, how they move in silence. Is not our mission to give God to the poor in the slums? Not a dead God, but a living, loving God. The more we receive in silent prayer, the more we can give in our active life. We need silence to be able to touch souls. The essential thing is not what we say, but what God says to us and through us. All our words will be useless unless they come from within - words which do not give the light of Christ increase the darkness.

Our progress in holiness depends on God and ourselves - on God's grace and on our will to be holy. We must have a real living determination to reach holiness. 'I will be a saint' means I will despoil myself of all that is not God; I will strip my heart of all created things; I will live in poverty and detachment; I will renounce my will, my inclinations, my whims and fancies, and make myself a willing slave to the will of God.

Gospel of the Day (Matthew 1:1-16.18-23)

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Abraham became the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.

Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar. Perez became the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminadab. Amminadab became the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab. Boaz became the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth. Obed became the father of Jesse, Jesse the father of David the king. David became the father of Solomon, whose mother had been the wife of Uriah.

Solomon became the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asaph. Asaph became the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, Joram the father of Uzziah. Uzziah became the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah. Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amos, Amos the father of Josiah. Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers at the time of the Babylonian exile.

After the Babylonian exile, Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, Zerubbabel the father of Abiud. Abiud became the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, Azor the father of Zadok. Zadok became the father of Achim, Achim the father of Eliud, Eliud the father of Eleazar. Eleazar became the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Of her was born Jesus who is called the Messiah.

Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the holy Spirit. Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly.

Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her.

She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means "God is with us."

***

Reflections:

"Behold, I make all things new" (Rev 21,5)

When the time had come for human nature to encounter the divine and to be so intimately united to it that the two would make but one person, it was necessary that each should already be manifested in its integrity. God, on his part, revealed himself in a manner befitting God, but it was the Virgin alone who threw light on human nature... For it truly seems that if God assumed human nature, not at its origin but in the fullness of time (Gal 4,4), this was because before that time this nature had not yet been fully brought to birth, whereas now, in Mary, it appeared in its integrity for the first time...

All this is what we have come to celebrate so festively today. The Virgin's birthday is likewise that of the whole world since this day saw the birth of the first fully human being. Now «the earth» has truly «yielded its fruit» (Ps 67[66],7), the earth that, with its thorns and thistles, always yielded before the corruption of sin (Gn 3,18). Now heaven knows that it was not set up in vain since humanity, for whom it was created, sees the light of day...

Hence the whole creation raises an endless song of praise to the Virgin; every tongue sings her glory with one voice; men and all the choirs of angels never cease to compose hymns to the mother of God. And we, too, sing her and offer her our praises together... To you alone, O Virgin worthy of all praise, as to your love for humankind, does it belong to value the blessing of the graces gained, not through us but through your generosity. Chosen from our race as a gift to God, you adorned with beauty the rest of humanity. Sanctify the hearts that have conceived the words we speak to you and prevent the earth of our souls from bringing forth the least evil, through the grace and goodness of your only Son, our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Gospel of the Day (Luke 5:33-39)

And they said to him, "The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and the disciples of the Pharisees do the same; but yours eat and drink."

Jesus answered them, "Can you make the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?

But the days will come, and when the bridegroom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days."

And he also told them a parable. "No one tears a piece from a new cloak to patch an old one. Otherwise, he will tear the new and the piece from it will not match the old cloak.

Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins, and it will be spilled, and the skins will be ruined.

Rather, new wine must be poured into fresh wineskins.

(And) no one who has been drinking old wine desires new, for he says, 'The old is good.'"

***

Reflections:

"The bridegroom is with them"

In love alone, of all the movements of the soul and the senses and affections, can the creature respond to the Creator, if not with an equal, at least with a like return of gift for gift... the Bridegroom's love, or rather the Bridegroom who is Love, asks only the commitment of love and faith. Let the beloved love in return. How can the Bride not love, the Bride of Love himself? How can Love not be loved? So, rightly renouncing all other desires, she gives herself up wholly to Love, for it is in responding to Love that she is able to return love.

For though she pours herself out completely in love, what is that in comparison with the inexhaustible flow of love from his spring? Love does not flow in equal measure from her who loves and Love himself, the soul and the Word, the Bride and the Bridegroom, creature and Creator, any more than a thirsty man is like a fountain... The desire of her who longs, the ardor of her who loves, the trust of her who is confident, because she cannot run step for step with a giant (Ps 19[18],6), rival honey in sweetness, the lamb in mildness, the lily in whiteness, the sun in brightness, or match in her love him who is Love? No. For even if the creature loves less because it is lesser, yet if she loves with all her heart, nothing is lacking where all is given...

This love is nothing other than holy and chaste love, love sweet and tender, love as tranquil as it is true, mutual, close, deep love, which is not in one flesh but which joins two in one spirit, making two no longer two but one. As Paul says: «He who is united to God is one spirit with him» (1Cor 6,17).